​In Cheryl Reeve’s inaugural season steering the Minnesota Lynx in May 2010, she kicked things off with a 80-74 victory over the now-defunct Tulsa Shock. Yet that initial triumph barely foreshadowed the rough patch that followed, as Minnesota dropped nine of their next ten games. By the end of July, Reeve had compiled a 7-16 record, and the Lynx finished the season second-to-last in the league at 13-21, ahead of only the Shock. Reeve recalls a fan taunting her after a 30-point loss early that season, a moment that stuck with her. “I had a moment where I just said, ‘I can’t wait,’” she said. “I cannot wait to be able to turn around and tell this fan. The next season, we went from second-to-worst to first.”
The season that followed would prove transformative. Reeve earned the WNBA Coach of the Year award and added a championship ring to her collection. Sixteen years and three more titles later, a win over the Connecticut Sun on a recent Wednesday elevated Reeve to the top of WNBA coaching wins, making her the winningest coach in league history. “I’m happy to say that that was the last time we were two-and-nine in our first 11,” Reeve remarked. Her 380th win places her ahead of Mike Thibault in WNBA coaching victories and solidifies her already notable place in basketball history. Not long before, she had been inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Before landing the Lynx head coaching job in 2010, Reeve had already seen WNBA teams fold around her. She had served as an assistant coach for two franchises that ceased operations—the Charlotte Sting and the Cleveland Rockers. She remembers family members encouraging her to consider switching careers or leagues. “I remember just vividly going, ‘I’m a WNBA person, and if this thing goes down, I’m going down with it, and I’m going to stick it out,’” she said. “And so, 26 years later, it’s become what I always thought it could be.” “The WNBA is like,” she added, her voice catching, “I found me, and I found my voice in the WNBA.”
When her first interview with the Lynx occurred, the organization’s stated goal was merely to make the playoffs. “I just didn’t feel like that bar was high enough when eight out of 12 teams made the playoffs,” Reeve explained. “I felt like changing the mindset: that should become the expectation. Being in the playoffs should be something that happens every year. The goal is to win a championship.” She stayed true to that vision. After 2010, she guided the Lynx to eleven consecutive playoff appearances, the longest current tenure of any WNBA head coach. Yet despite the length and consistency of her tenure, Reeve has never emphasized contract length as a measure of her worth. “If I’m good enough, I’m good enough,” she said. “If I’m not, then I shouldn’t be doing it.”
For years, Reeve separated her personal identity from her professional one. Now, as the winningest coach in WNBA history, she has embraced a different perspective. “Ultimately, basketball is my identity,” she stated. “It is my life. There’s just no way around that, and I stand in that, for better SEO.”